Phil Rosenthal
Musician · b. 1948 · Guilford, Connecticut
Best known for
Guitar
Songwriter
Lead Vocals
Phil Rosenthal is a Connecticut singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known for nearly a decade as guitarist and lead vocalist of The Seldom Scene, and as the author of “Muddy Water,” a bluegrass standard cut by both Bill Monroe and Johnny Cash. A versatile hand on guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, and bass, he later turned to producing folk and bluegrass music for children through his own American Melody label.
Assisted by AI.
Spot something off? Help us fix it.
- A native of Guilford, Connecticut, born in 1948, Rosenthal came up in the New England bluegrass scene of the early 1970s, playing mandolin and singing with the bands Apple Country and Old Dog; the latter, his own Connecticut group, recorded an album with dobro great Mike Auldridge, Mike Auldridge and Old Dog, for Flying Fish Records in 1978.
- In 1977 he replaced John Starling in The Seldom Scene as guitarist and lead singer, holding the chair until 1986 and touring widely across the United States, Europe, and Japan, with appearances at the Grand Ole Opry and the White House; he recorded seven albums with the group.
- His best-known composition, “Muddy Water,” became a bluegrass standard, recorded by Bill and James Monroe (on Together Again, 1978) and by Johnny Cash (on Silver, 1979), among others.
- He also cut the solo album A Matter of Time for Sierra Records in 1983, backed in part by members of the Seldom Scene.
- In 1986 he left the Scene to launch American Melody with his wife, Beth Sommers, a label devoted to folk and bluegrass music for children and families, for which he served as artist, composer, and producer on titles including Folksongs and Bluegrass for Children and This Land Is Your Land.
- He was named the official State Troubadour of Connecticut in 1994, and has continued to perform with the Sommers Rosenthal Family Band alongside Beth and their children, Naomi and Daniel.
-
The Seldom ScenePlayed on recordings with The Seldom Scene
-
Jonathan Edwards and the Seldom ScenePlayed on recording with Jonathan Edwards and the Seldom Scene
